Lenovo’s ThinkPad range are renowned for their austere, no-nonsense looks, and their latest ultrabook, the Lenovo ThinkPad T431s, sees the company sticking with the formula while adding a modernising touch or two.

Their new machine packs a tough carbon fibre and magnesium case, and sports a 14 inch, 1600 x 900 pixel matte display that can open up a full 180 degrees. Also on board are 2x USB 3.0 ports, full-sized Ethernet and SD card slots, 720p webcam, and a built-in 47Whr battery offering up to eight hours use. The keyboard is a chiclet style affair, while Lenovo’s love-it-or-hate-it pointing stick remains in the centre of the keyboard. A new touchpad below offers integrated touch areas instead of the old-style distinct buttons.

The ThinkPad is offered in both Windows 7 and Windows 8 flavours (we’d recommend W7, given the lack of a touchscreen). Ready to ship in April, the baseline configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad X431s retails for $949 and comes with a Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive.